I am reprising this poem from last year in praise of the colors and coming of fall.
The kinglets have come
ruby-throats are gone
and today I heard the sapsucker's
whine.
Gold plated pawpaws
crimson painted sassafras
frost asters blanket the fields
in lace.
Red-tails circle above,
white-throats rustle through the garden,
and days like black walnut leaves,
float one-by-one
away.
Beauty's blaze
faded
does she rue
her bare branches
where cardinals
perch
to devour
bitter berries?
Ripening over
the course
of a lifetime
we
offer our
fruit
to the world.
that doesn't stop coming
Like the parched autumn
landscape
day after day of drought
Or skinny deer
in a lean mast year
wandering in search of acorns
Or tree swallows' fruitless
flights
to gather insects
in a drizzling cold
April
Like wilted September spicebushes
who wait for rain
perhaps
someday
showers will fall
and we
will be revived
once again
Droplets of dew on towering jewelweed
sparkle like a thousand diamonds at dawn
Breeze-blown sassafras cast shadows at sunrise
light and dark dancing at daybreak
Young catbirds splash in shallow puddles
each drop the sun’s prism suspended in mid-air
Ruby-throats thread through stalks of crimson cardinal flowers
swaying with stationary partners at first light
The rising sun creeps over the horizon
bathing the morning in gold
A casual breeze
ripples
across
the whole
pond.
Can a casual act
of goodness
ripple
across
the whole
world?
Tree crickets trill nocturnal melodies into the wee hours
Handsome trigs' sweet staccato punctuates the day
Ruby-throats threaten and feud in restless frenzy
Bumblebees burrow down deep into orange jewelweed blooms
Sassafras' first leaves blush into crimson
Butter-yellow black walnut trees loosen their grip
Indian grass blankets the field in bronze
Mistflower billows into fuzzy blue clouds
Amid the social order's slow crumbling
the Holy lives among us.
